Bruyères stone row
The row of stones of Bruyères consists of three menhirs and is located in a forest southeast of the commune of Baux-Sainte-Croix in the Eure department in France . The rarity of this type of monument in Normandy makes it extraordinary. Normandy has just one more row of stones in Plumaudière near Montchauvet in the Calvados department .
The ground around the Menhire consists of a mixture of flint and breccia of Rupeliums . The abundance of this material on site explains the construction of these menhirs, as well as the dolmens nearby. The menhirs are oriented northwest-southeast.
The northernmost block is 1.5 m high. Its rectangular base is 2.4 m long and 1.0 m wide. The middle block, 16.5 m away, is 1.7 m high. Its diamond-shaped base measures 2.2 × 1.3 m. The third, fallen block is about 8.8 m south. It has the shape of a plate of 2.9 × 2.4 m and is 0.85 m thick. Its north-western end is still embedded in the ground, while the south-eastern part rises about 1.45 m.
The row of stones was discovered by Maurice Marais in 1939. The first excavations carried out at this time revealed the presence of supporting stones around the central menhir, which formed a kind of crown.
Another excavation took place in 1969. A search for a buried menhir gave no result. Excavations at the foot of the southern menhir revealed that a large block of pudding stone measuring 55 × 45 × 30 cm was buried and looked like a wedge on the south side. This excavation also confirmed that the menhir was 45 cm deep in the ground. The hole at the foot of the northern menhir confirmed the complexity of the ring system discovered in 1939.
Three flints are the only traces left by the builders.
The Bruyères stone row has been classified as a Monument historique since 1975 .
Nearby are the Dolmen de l'Hôtel-Dieu and the Pierre Courcoulée .
literature
- Jean Dastugue: Information archéologique. Circonscription de Haute et Basse Normandie. In: Gallia Préhistoire. Vol. 14, No. 2, 1971, pp. 325-338, here pp. 333-334, ( online ).
- Maurice Marais, Guy Verron: L'alignement des Bruyères (Commune des Baux-Sainte-Croix, Eure). In: Nouvelles de l'Eure. No. 56, 1975, ISSN 0996-2964 , pp. 41-43.
Web links
- Alignement de trois menhirs in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Coordinates: 48 ° 57 ′ 0.4 ″ N , 1 ° 6 ′ 13 ″ E